Vow of Protection
by Maj71119
Summary: Hatori and Chiaki have been friends ever since they could remember. With Chiaki always being careless, Hatori made a vow to always take care of him, but to never tell him how he really feels. Now being adults, will Hatori be able to fully keep his vow? (Note: I do not own anything of Sekaiichi Hatsukoi.) (Also credit to: Pixiv ID: 27296003 Member: よんぷ for the story picture!)
1. Confessions

"_thoughts"_

"_I promised that I wouldn't do this. These feelings were supposed to be locked away deep in my heart, so why? Why am I laying so close to him, watching these fireworks, exposing that I have loved him since we we're in high school. He'll probably never look at me the same. Maybe it's better to put in that form to transfer editors after all."_

"Tori... Hatori?" Chiaki said in a worried tone, slightly shaking his editor. "You fell asleep on your desk again. That's the second time this week. Are you feeling alright," Chiaki asked placing a hand on Hatori's forehead. Hatori spun his chair back, "I'm fine." "No you're not **fine**," Chiaki said in a slightly smart- elic tone, "your face is all red!" _"Well whose fault do you think that is, dangit!" _"I said I'm fine." He then stood, grabbing the jacket from his chair back, "I'll be leaving first, make sure you get plenty of rest tonight." "I know, I'm not a child," Chiaki said with a flushed red face. _"Why does he have to make such cute expressions, I don't know how much longer I'll be able to hold my self back. I want him; all of him!" _Hatori snapped out of it. "Well if I don't take care of you, who will? Speaking of which, what have you eaten today?" "Uhhh..." Hatori huffed, "It can't be helped." He went and grabbed Chiaki, pulling him out the door. "I'll fix you dinner tonight." "Really?!" Chiaki was ecstatic. "But weren't you feeling." Hatori glared at him with an annoyed expression. "Ahaha... never mind," Chiaki stuttered as they left the office.

* * *

"Ahh," Chiaki sighed with relief as he fell back onto the couch. "Who knew my dream job would be this tiring? I thought they said when you love what you do, you never work a day in your life!" Hatori chuckled as he kept stirring the curry he had been preparing. Hatori had been used to taking care of the smaller man for as long as he could remember. Each year through school they had ironically ended up in the same classes. They also only lived a train station away from each other, so they always went home together. But it wasn't until that day, in their first year of high school that Hatori truly fell for him.

Flashback:

They were on the train home, just arriving at Chiaki's station. "See you tomorrow Tori!" "What did I tell you about calling me that!" "Bye" he exclaimed sticking his tongue out at Tori. He then wistfully jogged away into the distance. Hatori settled back down in his seat, pulling out his cellular device. "_8:36 P.M. why did we have to get out so late today,_" he huffed. "_Oh right, it was his fault..."_

Earlier that afternoon:

"Tori I forgot my hat and gloves inside, I'll be right back!" "Idiot, we're going to miss the train!"

We ended up staying an extra hour for the next one because of that dummy! Hmph! "And he tells me not to treat him like a child," he thought. He glanced over to where his friend had been sitting, only to see a single bright blue glove laying in the seat. "Chiaki! He exclaimed angrily as he grabbed the glove and bolted off the train. "That boy causes me so much trouble. Now which direction did he live in again... shit!" He hung his head, "I should have just stayed on the train!"

Chiaki at the same time:

_"Woah, it's getting pretty chilly out here, better put on my gloves so I don't catch a cold. That would just be one more thing for Tori to gripe at me about."_ He reached into his coat pocket, pulling ot his gear. He put on the hat, then one glove and... "Ah," he shot around looking down his previous path. "I lost it!" As he was still turned around facing his old footsteps, he felt a warm figure pressing against his back. As he was about to turn, one hand covered his mouth, while the other began to explore his body. It ran up his chest, and then back down to his waist line. He felt the hand undoing his pants zipper. _"This can't be happening!"_ Chiaki began squirming trying to kick off the attacker. The man wasn't fazed in the least. The ominous figure leaned down to Chiaki's ear and whispered, "I like a challenge." Tears began to stream down his face. He was completely helpless within these grips, there was no way of escaping, all he could do was stand there and be violated. _"Maybe if I just close my eyes this will all __disappear, like one of those closet monsters I saw when I was a kid."_ Suddenly the hand that was in his pants ceased motion. Then with force, Chiaki's body was yanked forward away from the figure. He fell to the ground with a sense of relief, but was still in question of the current situation. When he glanced back the only things he saw were splattered blood and Hatori's fist, everything else went blank.

When he regained consciousness, he was lying on a pallet in an empty room with a sliding door closet and two windows on opposite sides. "Are you feeling alright, came form a familiar voice. "To-Tori?" He threw his arms around Hatori. "He-hey, what are you..." He looked down to see the small body clenched to him. _"His arms and fingers are so slender. He has pure white skin with crystal blue eyes. His hair smells nice too."_ Hatori kept examining. "Tori... you... saved me," Chiaki muttered between hiccups. "Thank you..." Chiaki gazed up at Hatori with a look of pure innocence. Hatori's heart skipped a beat. He didn't know what was going on. He had always thought of Chiaki as an attractive guy, but nothing more than a bother. Yet when Chiaki was laying in his arms, Hatori felt like he never wanted to let go of him. His heart began to race even faster. Chiaki released his grip from Tori's waist. "Sor-sorry," Chiaki murmured. Hatori then patted his head, "there is nothing to be sorry for." Chiaki blushed. Tori walked over to the closet grabbing another pallet. He then lied down opposite of Chiaki. "You can stay the night with me. I live alone, and if someone tries anything I will be here to protect you." The room was completely silent. "Hey Chiaki," he sat up and looked at his guest, but Chiaki was already fast asleep. "Tsk, what a waste of a good line," he laughed. "Goodnight Chiaki."

After that day the two of them went back to normal, well one of them did. Hatori now equipped with his new found liking towards Chiaki vowed to himself to always be there to take care of Chiaki, but to never tell him his feelings. They stayed friends through the rest of school and university. Later they ended up in the same workforce and eventually co-workers. And now this is where they were, Hatori still keeping his vow.

Flashback End

"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes... Chiaki?" As he was speaking he noticed the small body appear next to him and snatch a shrimp filled rice ball. "Hey what are you doing, it's almost ready!" "But e'm hunrry," Chiaki complained with a full mouth. Hatori huffed, "well it was all for you anyways." "What, you're not gonna eat with me Tori?" "Well I was going to," Hatori stopped midsentence reaching down to wipe a piece of rice from Chiaki's cheek. The smaller man blushed immediately, "I'll, I'll go wait at the table," he said trying to hide his flushed face. Hatori just laughed.

* * *

"Man that was good Tori! You could become a famous chef if you wanted to," Chiaki exclaimed once again plopping down onto the couch, but this time beside Tori. Tori blushed slightly. "Oh, hey I was wondering Tori, why are you always so nice to me? All I ever seem to do is cause you trouble." "Well I'm your editor, so if something happens to you, I'm without a job too." he replied emotionlessly. Chiaki frowned slightly. "I just thought that maybe you treated me so nicely because I'm your favorite or something." Chiaki giggled. "You're _my_ favorite Tori!" Hatori shot a surprised look at Chiaki, who didn't notice. _"Did he just say that I'm his favorite..."_ Chiaki then got up from the couch, "well I'm gonna go ahead and get some rest." He winked back at Hatori. "You can let yourself out whenever you're ready." He was about to walk off when Hatori grabbed his wrist. "Why?" Chiaki was a bit confused. "Why what?" "Why am I your favorite?" "Well that's easy, your kind to me, honest about my work, take care of me when I can't even take care of myself, and you have always been there when I needed you the most, just like that night." Chiaki gave a light-hearted smile to Tori. Hatori still had grip on his wrist. Chiaki was confused once more. "Tori?" "Chiaki... I'm in love with you."


	2. Answers

"Tori?" "Chiaki... I'm in love with you!" There was a pause of silence. Chiaki stared back at Hatori, who was still in silence. He stood avoiding eye contact, "I'll be... leaving." He made his way to the door, and began undoing the bolted locks." "Tori, Tori wait!" Before he could finish, Hatori was already gone._ "What was that?"_ Hatori's voice echoed in his mind. "I'm in love with you!" His face shot bright red,_ "since when, how could I not have noticed?"_ He lied back down onto the couch. _"Love, what is it?"_

Hatori got into his car and slammed on the accelerator. _"What have I done? I broke my vow! I told him the one secret, that I wasn't allowed to tell anyone!"_ He was completely in his own world, unconscious of his surroundings._ "Maybe it would be better if I just went away or better yet died! There's no way I can face him tomorrow!"_ The sudden sound of tires screeching filled the air, dust and gravel flew up, metal crunched...

Wish granted.

* * *

"Hey have any of you guys seen Hatori? He was supposed to be here by 11:30 to check my paneling. " "No, not since last night," came from a diligently working brunette. "Yeah we haven't heard anything either Chiaki," said the rest. "Umm I'm gonna go see if I can find him, you guys stay here and get back to work!" He then left the work space. _"Where could he be? It's not because of last night is it?"_ He ended up in the main work room. "Dang being short, I can't see over anyone," Chiaki said under his breath. "Hey did you hear about that accident last night?" He overheard someone say. "You mean the one Hatori was in, yeah I heard it was pretty bad, but what was he doing out that late so far away from his home?" " I don't know, but I heard he somehow ended up all the way downtown!"_ "Hatori was in an accident?!"_ He ran over to them. "Which hospital is he at?" "Woah Chiaki when did you get here?" "Which Hospital is he at?" Chiaki demanded angrily. "Uhh West Bay, he's in ICU right now though... hey Chiaki where are you..." Chiaki sprinted down the hallway and out the back door! "Why, why is this happening?" Tears were streaming down his cheeks. _"Please be okay, I need to ask you something!"_

* * *

Chiaki ran down the street, trying to find the hospital. He was so overwhelmed that he found himself on an unknown street corner. He fell to his knees in tears, "I have to find it, I have to know!" "Ummm Chiaki, is that you?" "Huh," he looked up to see Yuu standing before him. "What are you doing here in the middle of the walk way, you're going to be trampled! Get up." Yanase pulled Chiaki to his feet. "Now what were you saying about needing to know?" Chiaki composed himself a bit, tears still running. "I need to find the West Bay hospital, do you know where it is? "Uhh dude, it's right behind you." "Ehhh what?" He turned around in shock. "Thank you Yuu!" "Haha don't mention it, just treat me to dinner later as a thanks," and with a wink he was off. Chiaki stood and walked into the building. The lobby was huge, with blue upholstered chairs on each side wall and an oversized wooden counter in the center. He made his way down the center strip to one of the assistants in the office behind it. "I'm looking for Yoshiyuki Hatori." "Umm let me see," said a frail voice. "Oh I apologize sir, but he isn't taking guests right now, he is in critical condition." "I know that but I have to see him!" "I'm sorry sir, I can't." "Please, I'm begging you!" "I'm sorry, but I-" "He's my lover!" The whole room became quiet. The only sound were his tears pooling on the counter. Another assistant came to the window and began speaking to the woman with the frail voice. Moments later, "alright you can go in, but I need your name." It's Chiaki, Yoshino Chiaki." "Alright, have a nice visit."

A nurse escorted him to the room. "Here you are sir," the woman said with a light- hearted gesture. "Thank you very much," he exclaimed with a bow, then he entered the room.

As he walked through the door, all he could see was the foot of the bed. He got a sinking feeling in his chest. _"Why am I afraid to see him? After all that I've done to get here..."_ he thought to himself. "Umm excuse me nurse, could I get something to drink?" Hatori's voice sounded hoarse. "_Does he think I'm a nurse? Wait- something to drink."_ He searched around him, looking for something. He spotted a water bottle on the desk near his bed. _"Wait if it's so close, then why is he asking for help?_" Chiaki walked forward around the corner, to view the entire room. That's when he finally saw his editor fully, lying on the medical bed. From the looks of the bandages on his chest he at least had a few broken ribs. His wrist was wrapped with gauze, and so we're his eyes. Chiaki gasped as he began to cry once more. He quickly covered his mouth to muffle his voice. "Umm nurse?" Chiaki quickly grabbed the bottle and approached his bedside. As he was unscrewing the bottle's lid, the man began to remove the bandages from his eyes. "Is it alright for me to take these off yet? I don't have a headache anymore..." As the bandages hit the bed, Chiaki froze gazing at his editor. Their eyes met. "...Tori? " "When did you?" Hatori's face went red, as he turned away from Chiaki. "What are you doing here?" "What do you mean me, why are you in here?" "Well isn't that pretty obvious..." "You know what I mean, what happened?" "I was just In a little accident. The doctors said that I'll be fine." "Little, how can you say this is little?" Chiaki was now completely flustered. Hatori laughed, "You're still the same as you we're back then, getting worked up so easily." "And whose fault is that idiot." The room became silent. "Hey Tori, I need to ask you something. About what you said last night." "Just forget about it, I spoke without thinking." Chiaki froze,_ "He tells me something like that and he wants me just to forget about it? Are you serious?"_ "And what if I don't want to forget!" Hatori's eyes widened. "It was something that I should have never said, I was caught up in the moment." "Then are you saying it was a lie?" Hatori huffed, "No, it was just something that I promised myself I would never tell you. That's the reason I said to just let it go." "But why wouldn't you tell me something as important as that?" "I just didn't want you to ever have a reason to hate me. I wanted to be able to stay by your side." I could never hate you Tori, you should know that by now," he said with a smile. "Haha you know, I never even noticed how you felt!" "Well that was the idea idiot," he said with a laugh. Then they both laughed together. "Tori, if it's true that you love me, then can I kiss you right now?" Hatori's whole face became red instantly. "Well do you even like me like that Chiaki?" "... I'm not really sure myself, mainly because I've never been in love before. But I know that I want you to always be by my side, and when I thought there was a chance of losing you, It made my chest hurt so bad that I didn't know what to do! I can't imagine where I would be without you, and I don't wanna ever have to experience it!" Chiaki's face was so red that it looked like a tomato. Hatori was having to restrain himself from pouncing on him right there and then. "I didn't understand what these feelings were up until just now. I thought that it was just because you were always there for me, like a best friend, but it's more than that!" He now caught his breath, and stared back at Hatori. "Is that enough of an explanation?" Hatori just smiled, which was enough of a yes for him.

He leaned in slowly, placing his lips gently on Tori's. Once, then again. Chiaki wrapped his hand around Hatori's neck, pulling him deeper into the kiss. Soon Hatori's tongue found its way into his mouth. It began to explore the cavern, until it became accustomed to all its areas. They pulled apart for a short breath, saliva still connecting them. "Chiaki, I've dreamed of this so many times, all the things I would do to you." Chiaki's face got even more red, as if that were even possible. "Will you stay by my side forever?" "Of course ya big dummy!" Tori laughed, "Oh I'm the dummy?" He leaned in towards Chiaki wrapping his arm around his waist. "Ahhh Tori!" "I love you, Yoshino." he murmured in his ear. "I love you too!" Hatori kissed Chiaki's lips softly. "So you two really were lovers, we weren't actually for sure," a voice said from around the corner. "Lovers?" Hatori glanced at Chiaki, who refused to make eye contact. He laughed. "Yeah," he intertwined his fingers with Chiaki's, "we really are."


End file.
